QingYuan QYEV-2 maneuvers on the track Shanghai are part of the 2004 Michelin Challenge Bibendum. Tianjing Electric Vehicle Research Center equipped a pair of these vehicle with battery electric drive. 46 of the vehicles in the competition that seeks to promote both low emissions and high well-to-tire efficiency were battery electric-powered, far out-numbering both hybrids and fuel cell vehicles.

EVs Blossom in Shanghai

Michelin takes its Challenge Bibendum to Shanghai and discovers EV programs in full blossom

That's certainly not the message being conveyed from the 2004 Michelin Challenge Bibendum held this week in Shanghai. Of the more than 150 vehicles registered to participate in this year's competition, 70 of them were electric-drive; and of these, the vast majority (46) were battery electric-powered cars and two-wheelers built in China.

According to an EV World source familiar with battery development in China, only one manufacturer actually used lithium ion batteries. All the other cars used either nickel, metal hydride or advanced lead-acid. Regardless, the sheer number of battery electric, hybrid-electric and fuel cell-electric cars in the Bibendum this year clearly indicates that the technology is starting to catch on, especially among Chinese car makers and academic institutions.

North American, Japanese and European electric-drive entrants included Audi, Volkswagen, Peugeot, Ford, Toyota, Volvo, GM, DaimlerChrysler, Hyundai, and Nisssan. Michelin, which founded and sponsors the annual Challenge, entered its own EV's, built in cooperation with Swiss-based PSI; the fuel-cell powered Hy-Light and the hybrid-electric Concept. French fashion house Courrege, which participated in the 2003 Bibendum in Sonoma, California last year, joined the fun again, but this time with two vehicles, both battery electric-powered. Finally, the Aurora Vehicle Association traveled to China with its solar-powered car.

While most of electric vehicles in the Bidendum were of the four-wheeled variety, Shanghai Electrical Vehicle Development Center brought five of its electric scooters. And from what we understand, this is only a fraction of the two-wheeled electric vehicles currently in production or in development on the mainland.

Michelin was kind enough to post photographs of some of the battery electric cars in the Challenge on their web site. We thought EV World readers would enjoy seeing them. All photographs courtesy of Michelin.

Copyright 1998-2018, EVWorld.com, Inc. All rights reserved.
EV World premium subscriber content may be freely distributed 12 months after its original publication date
with the only stipulation being that EV World be credited and a link is provided back to the site.
All other material is subject to owner copyrights.
Some portions of this website require a $49.00US annual subscription.
EVWorld.com, Inc. - P.O. Box 461132 - Papillion, Nebraska 68046 USA.
Direct all correspondence to editor@evworld.com